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Tag Archives: health

Training Log: Because I’m Training for Something!

May 20, 2019 By in Big Cottonwood Marathon, Running, Training Tags: , , , , , , 1 Comment
Training Log: Because I’m Training for Something!

If you follow me on Instagram, then you might know I was selected to run the Big Cottonwood Marathon (Yes, MARATHON). A week ago, training for a marathon wasn’t my plan for the summer. I wanted to get speed and get back into shape, but I didn’t have any huge goals in mind. I applied for the Team Hylands Big Cottonwood Team because it sounded like an awesome experience. I never thought I would be selected.

Big Cottonwood is the exact opposite marathon experience of what I’ve been used too. I’ve run NYCM twice, and it’s crowded and hilly. Both of my better marathon times have come from NYCM (3:17, 3:07) despite it being one of the toughest courses out there. The second marathon I ran, Phoenix, was downhill enough that it doesn’t count towards an OTQ but you can still Boston Qualify. I ran a 3:14 there, and at the time was a PR. It wasn’t close to the 3:10 I wanted and my quads were on fire from the downhill.

Am I entirely sure I will excel at a new downhill course? I don’t know, but I am excited to have a big race on the books.

I’m not in the same shape as last spring, summer, or fall, so my goal is to get back into shape. I would be ecstatic to run about the same time as NYCM, knowing it wouldn’t translate into the same fitness as a 3:07 at NYCM. I’m most excited to train for something.  I’ll have a post about it at some point, but I’m going to wait a couple more weeks to start “training.”  I want a shorter training cycle with 2-3 20 miles. I don’t want to focus much on doing anything past 20 miles because in the humid summer, that is unpleasant. I would rather take shorter quality miles, than longer, slogging through the humidity miles.

That was a long intro to my training log, right?

Monday: Easy 60 minutes/3000 meter swim
Tuesday: Rest
Wednesday: 12X400 averaging 6:20 pace
Thursday: 3000-meter swim
Friday: Easy 60 minutes
Saturday: Movie Madness Half Marathon (14 Mile at 7:10 pace)
Sunday: Easy 60 minutes/3000 meter swim

 

Thoughts:

Besides marathon training, I guess. As always, my easy runs are just that, easy.

Workout Wednesday: 12X400 averaging 6:20 pace with 90 seconds recovery

I do my workouts on roads. I like it better, and most tracks aren’t open except very early or very late. So I do them all on roads. When school is done for the summer, I might get on the track.  The workout was a little faster than last week, which is progress.

Swimming:

I still plan to swim throughout the summer. I’m enjoying the cross training, and even though I’m marathon training soon, I think the extra cross training is going to keep me healthy.

Movie Madness Half Marathon: 14 Miles (7:10 average):

After my weekend plans changed, I decided to skip town and run the Movie Madness Half Marathon in Harrisburg. You can’t beat a $60 half marathon these days. The short story is, I was misdirected around mile 3 and ended up running 14 miles instead of 13.1 While yes, it stinks to get lost and run longer, my goal for the race was to get quality miles in. I wasn’t in a “race mode,” and I didn’t go to the half marathon to run my “fastest” ever.  It was fun to get a long run done elsewhere and enjoy myself.

Anyway, that was my most exciting training log for a while, because I’m going to start training for something.

Posts from the Week:

Exploring Tyler State Park (Newtown, PA)

Reebok Floatride Run Fast

Cape May 10k (42:35)

Finally, have you subscribed to the LOLZletter? It’s a free newsletter that comes out each Monday. This week I talked about why running shoes are so expensive.  Each week in the newsletter, I share running industry trends and things relevant to the sport. There are often giveaways as well as discount codes.

Questions for you:

Have you run the Big Cottonwood Marathon? Have you run a downhill marathon? Any tips? 

Are you training for something this summer?

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Training: Building Fitness and 10ks

May 13, 2019 By in Running, Training Tags: , , , , , , , 3 Comments
Training: Building Fitness and 10ks

Last weeks training was good. I got what I wanted for the week.  Over the summer, I plan to race as much as possible to get back into shape. That’s what I did when I set my 5k PR several years ago. I want to keep racing until I’m back in shape. I personally find I’m able to push myself harder in races versus workouts.

Monday: Easy 60 minutes
Swim 3000 meters
Tuesday: Easy 60 minutes
Swim 3000 meters
Wednesday: 3X1 mile averaging 6:30 pace
Thursday: 3000-meter swim
Friday: Easy 60 minutes
Saturday: Cape May 10k (42:35) Total miles with warmup/cooldown 10
Sunday: Long Run 12 miles averaging 7:58 pace (last 3 miles 7:08, 7:01, 6:56)

Thoughts:

After a rough Spring and putting the effort in, and not getting anywhere I’ve finally committed mentally to building back fitness. When I start trying to build back speed, I’m usually faster, so this feels as though I have a long way to go, especially considering Spring didn’t go my way.

My easy runs were just that, easy. There is never much more to say about them.

Workout Wednesday: 3X 1 mile (averaging 6:30 pace) with 2 minutes rest in between:

This was my first-speed workout in about a month. I intentionally took time off to allow my body some rest from hard workouts. It felt challenging, but I’m happy with my effort and getting back out there.

Swimming:

As most people know by now, I’ve been getting back into the pool more. I still plan to swim throughout the summer. I was a competitive swimmer through college, and it seems like a different lifetime ago. I’m having fun in the pool right now because I can mindlessly stare at the black line for about an hour. I can’t compare myself to previous fitness levels because there is no way I’ll get back in the pool for 10,000-14,000 meters 5X a week as we did in college (yes that’s 2-4 hours most days).

Cape May 10k: (42:35)

This pace was slower than my 10-mile pace at Broad Street. I have struggled to get the turnover in my legs faster recently. It feels as though my body as one pace for hard efforts and that is between 6:45-6:55.

This is another personal worst in recent years, but as I said on Instagram, my goal is to show up at races. The good, bad, ugly, I’ll be there. I still had a great time with friends, and I’m happy to have done it.

 

Long Run: 12 miles averaging 7:58 pace

My long run on Sunday felt better than my race on Saturday. My last 3 miles of my long run were 7:08, 7:01, 6:56. My last 3 miles of my 10k the day before were 6:58, 7:01, 7:01). Somewhat comical but that’s how the legs felt. I would have loved to run better at the race, but it wasn’t in the cards. I didn’t set out to run that fast, but it was motivational that I felt better for my long run.  

Posts from the Week:

Broad Street 10 Miler (1:07.35) 

Hiking Parker Loop at High Point State Park

Aftershokz Headphone Review

Finally, have you subscribed to the LOLZletter? It’s a free newsletter that comes out each Monday. This week I talked about the differences between social media runners and running specialty.  In the newsletter, I share running industry trends and things relevant to the sport. There are often giveaways as well as discount codes.

Questions for you:

How do you get your turnover faster?

What is something you struggle with in running? Long runs? Easy runs? Workouts?

 

Aftershokz Headphone Review

May 8, 2019 By in Gear Review, Running Tags: , , , , , , 26 Comments
Aftershokz Headphone Review

Many people have asked to start including product reviews as well as shoe reviews on my blog. Contrary to popular belief, I don’t change shoes every single week so a new shoe review won’t happen.

I’ve reviewed a few other running brand gear including CEP Compression as well as the Coros GPS Watch.

Aftershokz Headphone review

Do you run with music?

This is a question I get frequently. During easy runs, I do. During workouts and races, I don’t. I don’t typically listen to podcasts when I run and usually keep podcasts on in the background when I’m working or cleaning my house (hey, we all need motivation right?).

I should preface this review with: for years, I used the standard iPhone headphones and didn’t have an issue. I could buy dollar store headphones, and they would work.

The primary issue, for me, was safety and hearing things around me. With standards headphones, I always kept the music low to hear around me.

What makes Aftershokz different?

By now, you’ve heard of Aftershokz on the internet. We sell them at the running store I work at as well, the brand has gotten big!

Aftershokz sits in front of your ear so you can still hear around you. Aftershokz sends sound waves through your cheekbones, leaving your ears open so you can hear what is going on around you. I’ve run countless miles with them, and I can hear everything while also listening to music.

Most headphone companies want to promote noise isolation and cancellation, AfterShokz has gone against the grain with the open ear design. Not having something covering your ears allows you to be more alert and have situational awareness during your workout.

The Pros:

  • The only headphone design that allows you to hear your surroundings.
  • Durable (they are sweatproof and I’ve run in the rain several times and been fine).
  • Light: They aren’t bulky and don’t bounce around.
  • Bluetooth and no cord

The Cons:

  • They aren’t going to be as loud as other headphone brands that sit directly on your ear.  They don’t cancel outside noise, but that is the point.

ETA: Originally, I stated that you can’t change music/volume directly on the headphone. You, in fact, can and it’s done with the button on the side!  How I missed that, I don’t know!

Bone Conduction? What does that mean?

As you play music or sound, the pads vibrate. Instead of sending noise through the air and into your eardrum, it diverts it through your bones.

With bone conduction, there is a difference in the sound between over the ear headphones. I’ve always found the volume to be fine with the Aftershokz and bone conduction. I don’t know if they are the right headphone for a more noisy situation like crowded gym but for running, they are great.

The Models:

The Trekz Titanium:

Aftershokz Headphone review

The Trekz Titanium was the original version and retails at $99.99. It’s the first, the original, and a great product.  It comes in brighter and more bold colors. If bright colored headphones are for you, this is your product.

  • The Aftershokz Titanium has Bone conduction technology delivers music through your cheekbones, ensuring ears remain completely open to hear outside sounds.
  • Light, flexible and portable.
  • The OpenFit™ design allows you to hear outside noise while still enjoying music.
  • Wireless Bluetooth
  • It’s certified to keep out sweat, dust, and moisture, from workouts to wicked weather
  • Six hours of sound per full charge
  • Hassle-free 2-year warranty

The Aftershokz Trekz Air: 

Aftershokz Headphone review

The Trekz Air is the second generation and retails at $149.99. It all has all of the features of the Titanium but with a few more.  The colors are much more toned down as well. The Trekz Air has a little better sound quality and volume. The significant updates come with the headphone piece wrapping around your head is much lighter and slimmer.

The Aftershokz Trekz Air version is also about 20% lighter. The final difference is the microphone quality is better for phone calls. I don’t call people while working out (I’m not that coordinated) but several people do.  If that is something that interests you, the Trekz Air might be a better option.

Aftershokz is an excellent product and even better company, possibly why they’ve exploded on social media and in running specialty.

Finally, have you subscribed to the LOLZletter? It’s a free newsletter that comes out each Monday. In the newsletter, I share running industry trends and things relevant to the sport. There are often giveaways as well as discount codes.

Questions for you:

What kind of headphones do you use?

Do you use music when you run?

April Training

May 2, 2019 By in Running, Training Tags: , , , , , , 8 Comments
April Training

April was April.

I didn’t plan to take an entire week off from running, but then it happened.

I’ve talked to many people about it but running this Spring didn’t come together for me. I never got anywhere close to my PRs, and my training was inconsistent.  I still ran and consistently ran 1:30 half marathons from Carlsbad, to Shamrock, to Atlantic City.

I can look back and see why: I was mentally tired, plus I wasn’t doing all of the little things to gain fitness. Truthfully I felt like I didn’t have a goal except “get faster.” Well, that never happened, and when I crossed the Atlantic City finish line, I knew I needed a change. So I took a week off from running and refound the pool.

There are maybe two people that have been reading my blog since it’s birth in 2010 when I still swam. In fact, the original name for this blog was LOLZthatswim then LOLZthatswim(andrun) and now just FueledbyLOLZ.

The first LOLZ header in 2010.

Anyway, The later half of April was precisely what I needed: a change. I started getting into the pool and swimming. It isn’t tough to compare myself to my previous self. I used to compete in the mile for swimming, and now when I swim a mile in 28 minutes, I feel like I’m “crushing it.” The best example of that is thinking that you once ran a 5k in 18 minutes, but now you run it in 28 minutes.  There is nothing wrong with either, but it’s just different from what you’re used too.

That’s the difference. Swimming is so new again because I’ve taken a decade off. When I swim competitively, we didn’t use GPS watches to track laps; it was all in your mind!

And no, I have no interest in doing a tri. I don’t enjoy cycling.

Miles Run: 150ish 

Range of Pace: 6:06-10:40-untimed

Rest Days: 10 (does not include days I “just” swam). 

Swimming Days: 6 (12,000 meters total)

Next Month:

As I type this up on May 1st, I feel a strange feeling of wanting to run and train again. I haven’t felt that since NYCM. I’m putting together a racing schedule, but I want to run a lot of races and race my way back into fitness. That is what ultimately led me to my 5k PR. I just kept racing and slowly layered speed workouts on top of each other. I may not reach that fitness again, but I do want to try.

I’m also traveling a lot next month for weddings and to see my family. It’s going to be a hectic month on all fronts.

Posts from the Month:

Shoes:

Hoka One One Speedgoat Midi Shoe Review

Reebok Floatride Run Fast Pro

Altra Escalante 1.5 Shoe Review

Running:

The Difference Between Runners and Non-Runners

Hiking:

Hiking Watchung Reservation

Finally, have you subscribed to the LOLZletter? It’s a free newsletter that comes out each Monday. In the newsletter, I share running industry trends and things relevant to the sport. There are often giveaways as well as discount codes.

Questions for you:

How was your April?

What is one goal you have for May?

 

Training: Swimming and Running

April 29, 2019 By in Running, Training Tags: , , , , , 6 Comments
Training: Swimming and Running

Over the past two weeks, I’ve been getting in the pool…a lot. My goal last week was to get 6000 meters, and I did over three swim sessions. This Spring my running never came together as I hoped, so instead, I’ve resorted back to the pool. I don’t know how long I’ll continue to log the mileage, but I’m enjoying it for now which is all that matters.

Monday: Run 60 minutes
Tuesday: Swim 2000 meters
Wednesday: Run 60 minutes/Swim 2000 meters
Thursday: Run 60 minutes
Friday: Swim 2000 meters
Saturday: Easy run with Alexis
Sunday: 10 miles average 8:06 pace

Thoughts:

My running last week was easy minus a harder effort long run. I originally was signed up for a race (yes I lost the entry fee) but life came up, and I couldn’t make it. I made the best of it and got a long run in later. The long run was a harder effort, and I had several miles under 8. It was my longest run in the last two weeks.

As far as actual running goes, I’m trying to ease back into running after last week off. It was hard for me not to do a speed workout on Wednesday, but I reminded myself (multiple times) that it would be dumb to do that.

Swimming:

Last week I made it my goal to get 6000 meters of swimming in for the week. Way back in college days, we would do 6000-7000 meters per practice! I was proud of myself accomplishing that. I swam my fastest pool mile in quite some time (28 minutes). I’m going to keep swimming until I don’t enjoy it anymore. I don’t know when that will be, but I’m going to keep doing it for now.

Next week:

I plan to ease back into mileage. I am running the Broad Street 10 miler next weekend. I’m far off from the 1:02, I ran last year, but I always enjoy myself at that race. It will be nice to see family and friends.  I didn’t plan to take two weekends off from racing, but my life schedule has been unforgiving lately. It’s been a busy month for both my husband and myself and running has taken a backseat.

Finally, have you subscribed to the LOLZletter?

It’s a free newsletter that comes out each Monday. In the newsletter, I share running industry trends and things relevant to the sport. There are giveaways, coupon codes, and more. 

Posts from the Week:

 Hiking Watchung Reservation

Hoka One One Speedgoat Midi Shoe Review

Questions for you:

What is something you did before running?

How was your week of workouts?  

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